The Gift of A Friend
by Philip Ellwell
Summary: When Jack Frost finds a little stray kitten in the snow, he christens the little guy "Snowflake", falling in love with him as Snowflake sees and hears him, a first for Jack. When an accident causes Snowflake to die, The Man in The Moon shows Jack just how strong a bond can really be, even between a boy and a kitten.


He walked along the road quietly, the Winter snow falling like feathers from the night sky, the trees whispering their secrets with the night winds. He walked dead center along the yellow line through the streets, not minding traffic or occasional passersby, the full moon shining down lightly through flickering clouds. He was cold, but didn't notice it after all these years, the cold an old friend to him. His faded blue sweater was coated in the frost that chilled the night air, and the long staff, crooked like a shepards staff, glimmered in the darkness with the touch of ice dusting the air. His feet were bare, but he didn't feel the snow clouding the street. Why would he? He was made of cold, mostly, and ice made up the very blood coursing through his icy veins, the frost on his finger tips coursing through him.

His name was Jack Frost, sprite of legend responsible for snow days, window patterns, and icy chills, dancer among the flakes, and right now, as he walked along the road, running his staff behind him along the uneven paving of the road, he was very lonely.

It had been many years since he'd talked to another besides himself, or been heard. That was the catch with his situation: immortality and youth came with a heavy price in the end. He walked along the line, dragging his staff, ignoring a jogger as she went by, unable to see him, singing softly an old lullaby his mother had sung to him and his little sister in life, many, many years ago:

_ "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,_

_ When I am king, dilly, dilly, you shall be queen."_

_ "Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so? _

_'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so." _

_"Call up your men, dilly, dilly, set them to work_

_ Some to the plow, dilly, dilly, some to the fork, _

_Some to make hay, dilly, dilly, some to cut corn,_

_ While you and I, dilly, dilly, keep ourselves warm. "_

His voice was soft, lilting on the night air as he closed his eyes to the gentle sting of the Winter winds, ice crawling across the street in fern patterns in his wake. The road crackled with his icy blue magic, racing across the pavement to curl across windows up and down the street, children smiling in sleep at the promise of another snowday, courtesy of a figure they only knew from an old tv special, and not a flattering representation at that. He'd always hated the blue skinned puppet going by his name, each year as it played on the tv screens in department stores and living rooms across the was even worse portrayals in several bad horror films, and some crazy movie with a talking snowman.

"Lavender's green, dilly, dilly, Lavender's blue,

_ If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you._

_ Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly, And the lambs play;_

_ We shall be safe, dilly, dilly, out of harm's way. " _

_"I love to dance-" _

A soft sound made his voice falter, as he stopped in his tracks to listen againt the sound of rushing wind and crackling ice. There...the sound was under that car, parked by the street light to his left. He knelt to look under it, and smiled at what he saw: a small kitten, eyes as blue as a Winter day's sky, and fur dark as midnight, stared back, meowing softly.

Jack smiled, and laughed. "Hi, little guy. Where's your moma?" "Mreow." The kitten answered, toddling unsteadily towards Jacks cool finger tips, rubbing its small face to them happily, a rusty purr echoing in its throat. Jack smiled softly as the kitten walked towards him, taking a tumble and landing on it's rear. "Oh...heh heh, poor thing." Jack said, picking the little creature up. "Oh...excuse me, poor little guy." He giggled, letting the kitten swipe tiny paws at his finger, his small body fitting snug in the crook of Jack's elbow.

"Are you alone out here, little guy? Where's your Moma? Your brotha's and sistah's?" The kitten blinked snow blue eyes, and shook his head slightly. "Oh..I see." Jack said, a small frown crossing his pale lips. "You're alone too.." The kitten purred, rubbing his head on Jack's chest, as the eternal boy held him for a few moments, each second he spent with the warm little kitten making his chilly mood lessen just so slightly. No one had seen him in a very long time, and even just the small baby was enough, a living thing that saw him, and seemed, so far, to like him.

"You need a name, little guy." Jack said, teasing him by waggling a finger in front of his nose, swift paws swiping at it as the kitten purred. He smiled. "Snowflake." The kitten looked up at him, seeming to smile as he sleepily blinked cool blue eyes, yawning wide to show a mouth of little teeth and pink gums. Jack slid down to the sidewalk, back to a lightpost, staff besides him, holding his new friend as the night faded, both asleep in the light winds. Jack didn't create cold unless he held his staff and willed it, so the slight warmth of his body kept Snowflake safe until the sun rose above the treeline.

Jack smiled, running a finger along Snowflake's chin. Snowflake purred in response, batting at Jack's finger, trying to suckle. "Hungry, bud?" Jack asked, chuckling. "I'll get you some food." He stood, wiping accumulated snowflakes off his lap and dashing it out of his silvery hair, the kitten watching the flakes fall with fascination and awe, purring loudly in the cradle of Jack's arms. "Hold on tight." Jack said, taking a step up into the air.

A swift North wind took them high above the clouds, Snowflake carefully held tightly in the crook of his arm. The cat seemed to be fine with the sudden height, watching passing birds with wide eyes, purring the whole time.

_"Lavender's green, dilly, dilly, Lavender's blue,_

_ If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you."_

Jack sang softly, his voice carrying across the winds as the flew high into a cloudbank, the sun shafting around them like the center of a diamond, his spirits as high as his flight, the little kitten held close.

He gently coasted down low, headed to the back of a diner off the freeway, a simple Mom and Pop place where food was left out often for local cats to partake of. Jack came to a stop on the balls of his feet atop a fence, balanced carefully, Snowflake curled up in one arm, his staff clasped tightly in his other, watching to be sure it was safe.

The parking lot was mostly empty, and the food bowl was filled by the back door. He hoped to the ground, and set Snowflake by the bowl to eat, sitting next to him cross-legged and petting him, singing softly a different song from his childhood, one his Moma had taught him long ago:

_"Guileless son, your spirit will hate her, _

_the flower that married my brother the traitor.." _

The door to the diner's kitchen slammed open, and the burly chef stomped out, a basket of rotting food to be thrown out in his beefy arms.

He looked down at Snowflake, who glanced up from his meal, eyes wide with fear, and grunted, one boot flying.

Jack couldn't have done anything, even if he could be seen: it all moved too fast. Snowflake flew about a foot, his small body hitting the ground with an awful thud, as the man banged back into the diner, Jack scrambling for the kitten's body. His breathing was labored, eyes fluttering, trying to focus on Jack as he held him.

"No, no...please no...Snowflake...hold on...you'll be okay...I'll..."

He'll do what? Go to a vet? No one could see him, and they both knew it, somehow. Snowflake purred weakly, as Jack held him close, whispering a lullaby he knew from long ago in his soft ear, kissing him,caressing his soft fur, watching his only friend fade.

_"Sleep, baby, sleep...down where the wood vines creep.." _

Snowflake shuddered, and stilled, and Jack held him close, sobbing, as ice coated the round around him, his knees pulled up into an impromptu bed for the little creature, the only thing to notice Jack in 300 years, an innocent who only needed small things, and was happy to simply be held and petted.A light snow began to fall from the dark clouds rolling in, as Jack's tears fell onto soft fur.

"Why?" He said, turning his tear stained face up to the thin shadow of the moon, hanging still in the winter sky in a break of dark cloud. "Why did you take him from me?"

The moon didn't answer, which was nothing new to the sprite, as his tears lightly dusted the kitten's fur with frost, a light blue settling over his skin. Jack looked down with a startled gasp when the purring began: Snowflake had sat up, and purred strongly, eyes blinking at Jack like nothing had ever happened.

His skin was a light blue, and his fur shone faintly. Jack touched him lightly, afraid he would vanish: his finger came away dusted with snow. Snowflake had become an ice creature, made of frost and cold like Jack. "Snowflake..." Jack said, smiling. The kitten leapt onto Jack's chest, rubbing his small face to Jack's, his purring loud and strong. Jack held him, and smiled.

"Thank you.." He whispered, turning his eyes up to the moon. He thought he could see, faintly, a smile etched on the cool surface, but a cloud floated in front of it before he could take a good look. Holding Snowflake close, Jack picked up his staff and stepped into the air, flying off into the newly rising sun, Snowflake purring in his ear. He smiled, and looked to the North sky, taking a South wind higher above the clouds, whooping for joy, and the simple love of a kitten that had changed his outlook forever.


End file.
